This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around the Rink
Here's something you probably didn't know or didn't remember: Avs netminder Semyon Varlamov was arrested a year ago on charges of kidnapping and assault committed against his girlfriend, including allegedly kicking her in the chest and stomping on her. The charges were eventually dropped a couple months later.
Why's that not in the public consciousness? Probably because Varly didn't miss a single start. No suspension, nothing. Just a side news item lost in a long season of news items, big and small.
Of course, that was before the Ray Rice incident.
With the NFL cracking down hard on players who get arrested or domestic violence, it's no surprise to see other leagues following suit. And this is how we come to the NHL indefinitely suspending Slava Voynov after his arrest early Monday morning. Voynov hasn't even been charged with a crime yet, but he's banned (with pay) until this situation reaches some sort of legal resolution. The wait-and-see approach from which Varlamov benefited has turned into the react-and-then-investigate approach for Voynov.
Because let's be honest with ourselves: Voynov wouldn't have been suspended a year ago. Before the Rice thing (and Adrian Peterson, and some lesser-known players) launched a firestorm of bad PR for the NFL, Roger Goodell and the league didn't seem to care very much about domestic abuse. Rice was headed for a modest two-game suspension, while Josh Gordon was slated to miss the whole year because he likes smoking pot. But now the NFL, as the biggest, most valuable sports league, has set the bar, and it's not surprising to see the NHL, like the little cousin it is, following along.
But is it right? To be perfectly clear, people who physically harm their loved ones are utterly indefensible. But in my opinion, their run-ins with the law should be resolved by the law, and after that process is over, the league should provide supplementary discipline if it's deemed necessary. The way things are now, with these preemptive suspensions, guys are practically considered guilty as soon as they're accused. And it's all because the leagues want to avoid negative media coverage, not out of any sense of doing right. If they actually wanted to do right as opposed to placating the twin gods of PR and money, domestic violence would have always been a big deal.
I'm not just complaining because I own Voynov on half my fantasy teams… but I am also complaining because I own him on half my fantasy teams.
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
Leafs (Jonathan Bernier) at Islanders (Jaroslav Halak), 7:00
Rangers (Henrik Lundqvist) at Devils (Cory Schneider), 7:00
Sharks (Antti Niemi) at Bruins (Tuukka Rask), 7:00
Red Wings (Jimmy Howard) at Canadiens (Carey Price), 7:30
Coyotes (Mike Smith) at Predators (Pekka Rinne), 8:00
Hurricanes (Anton Khudobin) at Jets (Ondrej Pavelec), 8:00
Flyers (Steve Mason) at Blackhawks (Corey Crawford), 8:30
Canucks (Ryan Miller) at Stars (Kari Lehtonen), 8:30
Panthers (Roberto Luongo) at Avalanche (Reto Berra), 9:00
Lightning (Evgeni Nabokov) at Flames (Karri Ramo), 9:00
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check out our Projected Goalies Grid.
Injury News For Teams Playing Tuesday
Maple Leafs
David Booth, LW (foot) – Said recovery is going "too slow"
Brandon Kozun, RW (ankle) – Expected out 18-20 games
Islanders
Travis Hamonic, D (undisclosed) – Left Monday's practice early
Lubomir Visnovsky, D (back) – Expected to make season debut Tuesday
Mikhail Grabovski, C (concussion) – Out indefinitely; will be reevaluated this week
Michael Grabner, RW (sports hernia) – Out several more weeks following surgery
Rangers
Derek Stepan, C (leg) – Progressing on schedule; early-November return possible
Dan Girardi, D (foot) – Didn't practice Monday; likely out Tuesday
Kevin Klein, D (face) – Practicing with the team; should go Tuesday
Dan Boyle, D (hand) – Out several more weeks with break
Devils
Martin Havlat, RW (face) – Practicing in full face mask; sounds likely for Tuesday
Sharks
Mike Brown, RW (hand) – Placed on IR Saturday
James Sheppard, LW (knee) – On AHL conditioning assignment
Bruins
Kevan Miller, D (shoulder) – Out indefinitely with dislocation
Red Wings
Johan Franzen, RW (leg) – Placed on IR Monday
Pavel Datsyuk, C (shoulder) – Could be back in Tuesday
Canadiens
None
Coyotes
Martin Hanzal, C (lower body) – Didn't practice Monday; Tuesday status uncertain
Predators
Matt Cullen, C (lower body) – Practicing for the last week; could return Tuesday
Mike Fisher, C (Achilles) – Remains out until late November
Hurricanes
Eric Staal, C (upper body) – Skating; estimated return Oct. 28
John-Michael Liles, D (general soreness) – Wore no-contact jersey at Sunday's practice
Nathan Gerbe, LW (lower body) – Hasn't practiced since being hurt last Thursday
Andrej Sekera, D (upper body) – Has been practicing; possible for Tuesday
Patrick Dwyer, RW (lower body) – On IR with no timeline
Jordan Staal, C (leg) – Expected out until at least late December
Jets
Evander Kane, LW (knee) – Out at least another two weeks
Flyers
Braydon Coburn, D (lower body) – Expected to play Tuesday after sitting Saturday
Vincent Lecavalier, C (foot) – Out another week
Blackhawks
Kris Versteeg, RW (lower body) – Expects to be back in there Tuesday
Canucks
Bo Horvat, C (shoulder) – Sent to AHL for conditioning assignment
Ryan Stanton, D (lower body) – Wasn't able to go Saturday; Tuesday uncertain
Stars
Patrik Nemeth, D (arm) – Out for the regular season following extremely serious skate cut
Valeri Nichushkin, LW (groin) – Has sat out a week, so should be nearing a return
Sergei Gonchar, D (ankle) – Won't be back until at least early November
Panthers
Dave Bolland, C (lower body) – Unable to go Saturday; uncertain for Tuesday
Avalanche
Reto Berra, G (neck) – Expected back in net Tuesday
Semyon Varlamov, G (groin) – Still out Tuesday, but will return Friday
Jesse Winchester, LW (concussion) – Placed on IR last week; return uncertain
Lightning
Ryan Callahan, RW (lower body) – Was injured Monday; status undetermined
Alex Killorn, C (undisclosed) – Was hurt in morning skate Monday and didn't play
Victor Hedman, D (hand) – Expected to be out at least four weeks
Radko Gudas, D (lower body) – Was looking to return Monday, but didn't; Tuesday possible
Flames
Deryk Engelland, D (lower body) – Out three straight; seems doubtful for Tuesday
Josh Jooris, C (upper body) – Didn't go Sunday; uncertain for Tuesday
David Jones, RW (lower body) – No timetable for return from IR, but shouldn't be too long
Hot
T.J. Brodie, D, CGY – Last year's miniature breakout (four goals, 31 points) was only the beginning for Brodie, who's busted out of the gate so hot this year, he's already just one goal short of last season's total. Following a quiet opener, Brodie's exploded for a six-game point streak that's left him sitting on a point per game for the season and a plus-5 rating – and was surely responsible in part for the Flames' decision to lock him up to a five-year, $23 million extension. The 24-year-old has already become the team's top defenseman, averaging even more ice time than his partner, Mark Giordano, who had a pretty big breakout of his own last year. If you snatched Brodie late in a draft, well done – enjoy the ride.
Frederik Andersen, G, ANA – Entering the season, most hockey prognosticators seemed to see it as a foregone conclusion that John Gibson would at least enter into a timeshare with Andersen, if not take this job from him outright. Those people may have forgotten to look at Andersen's stat line from last year. But they're not going to forget anymore, not now that he's started the year 5-0 for the white-hot Ducks. The Danish goalie is sitting on a ridiculous .950 save mark and 1.38 GAA in the early going, and he's now won 25 of his first 30 NHL decisions, capped by his first career shutout Sunday against the Blues. He's not just good – he might very well turn out to be great. Meanwhile, Gibson hasn't seen a start since giving up six goals in the opener.
Cold
Marian Hossa, RW, CHI – At 35 years old, it may be unfair for Hossa to be expected to duplicate last season's 30-goal, 60-point campaign, but there's certainly a history of aging stars scoring aplenty late in their careers, so we do expect something in that neighborhood if he's healthy. Unfortunately, despite averaging nearly a minute more of ice time (19:31!) than last year over the Hawks' first four games, Hossa's managed to score exactly one goal (a shortie, of course) and no assists. He has taken 14 shots, though, which is right at his normal rate, and obviously it's hard to complain about the heavy general ice time and career-high power-play minutes. Especially if he doesn't get on the board Tuesday, it's a nice time to check in with his potentially panicky fantasy owners.
Roman Josi, D, NAS – After last year's 13-goal, 40-point bust-out, big things were expected from Josi this year, but like Hossa, he hasn't really delivered despite seeing more ice time than ever. Josi and Shea Weber are on the ice together for practically half of every game, but while Weber's off to a productive start, Josi's lagged, with a goal and no assists through five games. And unlike Hossa, he's not shooting at his normal rate – he's put just six pucks on goal so far, a stunningly low figure for someone playing those minutes. The big helping of power-play time he's getting will certainly give Josi plenty of opportunity to turn things around, but it's a little concerning that he seems to be assuming more of a stay-at-home role while Weber goes ranging about on offense.
Recommended Pickup
Joe Colborne, C, CGY – Fantasy owners have been slow to react to Colborne's early-season productivity (six helpers in seven games), and as a result, the budding power forward is widely available despite owning that precious combination of pedigree (the Bruins took him No. 16 overall in 2008) and opportunity (he's averaging 16:30 of ice time per game, often skating alongside legit offensive talents Sean Monahan and Jiri Hudler). It's time to change that. Colborne never truly budded in the AHL, but he's still only 24 years old, and it looks like the Flames are getting his best hockey to date so far. We could ask him to shoot more (just six in seven games), but it's hard to complain about him playing distributor at this pace.
